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Xbox 360 and rhinestones, how can this go wrong?
Stop us if you've heard this before: You get home, stare at your Xbox 360 console and, through the corner of your eye, spot your sister's Bedazzler and think, "Yes. Yes, I can." Apparently that's what happened with deviantART user ricepuppet when creating the above piece of work for "a client." Don't get us wrong, we dig the paint job, but the faux gems look completely out of place. Somewhere, a little girl's jean jacket sits cold and alone without the word "Princess" strung across the back in precious rhinestones (for the sake of this joke, pretend it's 1987).
Watch as hamsters 'dance-off' against humans for Home superiority
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/21/watch-as-hamsters-dance-off-against-humans-for-home-superiorit/'; When we heard Home was pitting Hamsters (Read: Virtual Furries) against Humans in a virtual world dance-off, we were intrigued. Actually, first we re-read our news feed to make sure we weren't hallucinating and then we became intrigued. Last night we decided to log onto Home and find out what all the fuss was about. Like cars slowing past a train wreck, we were unable to look away as dozens of PlayStation 3 users came together for the "ultimate dance-off." The winning faction has not been officially revealed, but humans appeared to be the clear winner during our multiple login sessions. If you're wondering what the point was: based on which side showed the most support, Home users would receive a different free item. If Hamsters are the decided winner, the PlayStation Home community will receive Viking and Valkyrie helmets. If Humans win, Home users net free Fedoras and Aviator headwear. It's easy for us to be dismissive of the wacky promotion, but users involved seemed to be enjoying themselves. Seriously. As avatars bumped (also, grinded), users would motivate and compliment each other on their "sick moves" ... it was one of the strangest things we've ever seen on a gaming console. The horrors of a giant hamster "shakin' its money maker" can be viewed above. Fair warning it's 3 minutes and 41 seconds that cannot be unseen, nor is it time you can ever get back.
UK man finds ecstasy tablets in used copy of GTA
A UK father of two said he found four tablets, which police say is likely ecstasy, within a used Grand Theft Auto game that he purchased at a Gamestation in the county of Gloucestershire. Richard Thornhill, 34, found the pills wrapped in plastic and hidden inside the instruction manual of one of two unspecified GTA games when he returned home from the store, reports the Telegraph. While still shocked at the incident, Thornhill was thankful the pills were discovered by him, dreading to think "what the consequences" would be, had his children found it. In the wake of the strange discovery, Gamestation reps maintain the company's policy is for staff to follow "rigorous procedures" when accepting trades. Perhaps the new company policy would add a four-legged employee into the mix to sniff out any future issues. Both Gamestation and the Gloucestershire Police are investigating the incident. [Via GamePolitics]
Casting call looking for 'Punch-Out!!' lookalikes
Craigslist provides another bit of strange, gaming-related news, this time with EDP Casting sending out a casting call for Punch-Out!! lookalikes. The post is looking for New York natives to fill the boxing gloves of Piston Honda, King Hippo, Great Tiger and, of course, Little Mac. The listing doesn't specify what the casting call is for but we'd like to dream the entire classic NES title would be put to music and run on Broadway -- with the help of Andrew Lloyd Webber, of course. If you think you've got the chops to jump into Mac's pink sweatsuit, make sure to take note that EDP is looking for someone with "real fire" in their eyes. So, you really have to want the part ... or at least undergo some experimental surgery. [Via GoNintendo]
The Best of Massively: Our top 5 weirdest news stories
We're still counting down to Massively's first birthday by compiling the best and most entertaining coverage we've done. So far we've listed our most important interviews and our most helpful guides. This time around, we're looking back at the top five strangest, weirdest and sometimes-raciest news stories we've covered since we launched last November.Whether you missed these stories or you're just ready for a refresher, we hope they'll make you smile and laugh -- or at least make you raise an eyebrow or two! Click to start >> %Gallery-33582%
One Shots: A whole new kind of circus act
We've seen some interesting glitches coming out of Age of Conan, but this one has to be one of the more interesting mount shots we've seen. Apparently this glitch involved Georges N's character who was... well, we'll let him explain it:Strange visual glitch [logging] into the game at my guild city in the Trader Building. When I spawned into the game, all of the buildings [rendered] as they usually do, but because I was inside one as it was [rendering] - and on my horse - I was thrown about 50 feet into the air. When I came down, I was standing on top of my horse. I could [cast] all of my spells, attack people and everything you can do while unmounted (apart from spellweaving for some reason) but I moved as fast the horse. [I got] lots of confused /tells as I ran / rode through Old Tarantia!Have you seen any strange, off the wall things in your travels? Perhaps you've encountered some weird graphical glitches in your favorite game? If so, send those screens our way. Just send a mail to oneshots AT massively DOT com with a short description and your attached image. We'll show them off to the readers and give you credit for sending them in! %Gallery-9798%
Server prepares for WotLK...in July
I know that I wasn't the only one that did a double take today when I opened up WoW and saw the "Breaking News" maintenance announcement that included a tidbit about the realm Dreadmaul undergoing hardware upgrades for Wrath of the Lich King.I find this interesting for several reasons. First, the expansion hasn't even had a release date announced yet and they're already making hardware changes. Now this is obviously a good practice – getting ready for things before hand – but then again, if it's not going to be released in October / November of this year all these hardware changes could be done later and for much cheaper. No matter if you agree with my pricing analysis or not, it is definitely a bit odd to hear about hardware upgrades when the release date hasn't even been made public yet.
DS Daily: Odd jobs
The DS has its fair share of weird games, which is one thing that we love about the handheld. Telling friends and family members that you're playing a game about male cheerleaders or a spikey-haired defense attorney, though, can be a little awkward. Have you ever been put into such a situation, where a non-gamer just didn't get it? If so, what are some DS titles that you've had difficulty explaining to other people?
DS Daily: The good, the bad, and the strange
Even after Puzzle Quest, we never thought we'd see the day when a game would combine jewel stacking with survival horror. We're so glad it's actually happening, but we didn't expect it. The concept is odd, to say the least. The DS has a lot of niche titles like this, but some of them are weirder than others. Which DS game out there (or coming out) do you think has the strangest concept? Is it bejeweling your way through a haunted schoolhouse? Or perhaps a game involving sponges, rubbing, and anime? Let us know! And remember, strange doesn't always mean bad.
Breakfast Topic: Just a little fun
I love this weird experience Lucy Dark had in game-- she came across two naked gnomes, named Frodobaginss and Samwisse, who claimed they were trying to get to Mordor. She helped them for a while-- until they started calling her Gollum.It must have just been two guys having a little fun for the night. Have you ever done or seen anything weird and fun like this in the game? Once, my gnome warrior was fishing off the wharf in Menethil, and I was bored, so I started /yelling a sea shanty, in verse, that I made up on the spot. It got complicated-- my woman left me, and my boat sank, etc. etc., and while quite a few people ignored me, a couple of people sent laughs, and hopefully they had a good time. Ever done anything weird like that, just to give people a strange experience?
Boynq offers up myriad of artsy speakers, peripherals
It's been a tick since we've seen any randomness from Boynq's labs, but it looks like the firm has worked up quite a number of design-centric speaker stations, iPod sound systems, and superfluous USB-related gizmos of late. Among the standouts are the iCube II (pictured), which sports ten-watts of amplification, an iPod docking port, line-in, dedicated treble / bass controls, and a rather sexy look, too. Additionally, the tooth-shaped Sabre operates much like the aforementioned device but touts twice the wattage and a video output, and the USB-powered Alibi webcam looks an awful lot like a robotic pet of some sort. Do yourself a favor and check out a few more photos of Boynq's zany lineup after the jump.
GPS-equipped spy squirrels 'arrested' by Iranians
Talk about getting into some hot water. Reportedly, some 14 implike squirrels were recently "arrested by Iranian authorities for espionage," as the critters were apparently found to have various amounts of "spy gear from foreign agencies" on (er, in) their bodies. Some reports even mention that the animals were sporting embedded GPS sensors, but due to the high level of secrecy surrounding the capture, things are still a bit foggy. Nevertheless, Iran has apparently claimed that the "rodents were being used by Western powers in an attempt to undermine the Islamic Republic," and while it doesn't seem that anyone is really aware of the squirrels' fates, it looks like sending in the animals to do a human's dirty work isn't as effective as it once was.[Via DailyWireless, image courtesy of UMT]
Discomfited German hurls PC from window, police sympathize
Trust us, there's been quite a few days in which a dysfunctional PC was kicked around at Engadget HQ for eating posts and intentionally inserting typos, but we've yet to become so flustered that we needed to launch one out of the building. Interestingly enough, a disgruntled 51-year-old German just couldn't resist, as he actually flung his PC out of a window during the middle of the night, which startled neighbors and garnered a visit from local police. Of course, the boys in blue did exactly as they should, and left the man with nary a warning after apparently sympathizing with his technical frustrations. Granted, the rattled PC hurler was forced to clean up the mess from the streets below, but we can safely assume he felt an awful lot better after showing that hunk of plastic who was really in charge.[Via TGDaily]
Solo's bus stop ad enables life-size chatting with strangers
Hot on the heels of Nokia's own bus stop gimmick comes none other than Solo, which has erected a clever display on a number of waiting areas to allow perfect strangers to yap it up on giant mobiles. The interactive billboards each sport a larger-than-usual flip phone, which allows curious onlookers to mash an enlarged walkie talkie button and get on the horn with a faraway stranger. The active two-way radio setup was reportedly installed in transit shelters in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Calgary, and the system supposedly connects users in the different cities to one another when a conversation is initiated. Unfortunately, Engadget HQ doesn't happen to reside in the land of the Canucks, so for our brethren in the north, why not stop on by and give a shout to a fellow Canadian, eh?[Via Core77]
Four things you might not have expected to find on Apple TV
Apple TV is proving to be a hacker's delight, a kind of subMini with a complete (if variant) OS X operating system, wireless networking, and many other useful features. It also has a lot of legacy associated with it. Here are a few things you can find on Apple TV that you might not have expected: Internet Explorer favorites. Dating back to 2003, you can find a list of Apple-related sites in /Users/frontrow/Library/Preferences/Explorer Perl. Apple TV ships with a full 5.8.6 Perl installation for your scripting pleasure. Screen capture. You'll find the utility screencapture in /usr/sbin. It works perfectly, allowing you to snap pictures from your Apple TV and store them in the frontrow account. e.g. /usr/sbin/screencapture -tjpeg ~/applelogo.jpg Sounds. All your standard sounds (Basso, Frog, Pop, Sosumi, etc) are located in /System/Library/Sounds. If you so hack your system, you can play them in VLC or QuickTime Player and they sound exactly the way you expect. However you have to bring over a copy of System Preferences if you want to assign them to your non-existent Apple TV alerts.
Cuddle up to your iPod Pillow--and listen
ThinkGeek.com, vendor of things freaky, strange and just cool, has a huggable, squeezable, squishy iPod-shaped pillow for sale for twenty bucks--or at least it will as soon as they restock. Before you run away, saying to yourself that you have enough huggable squeezable squishy iPod-shaped pillows in your life, consider the fact that this pillow can actually play music from its internal speaker. Hook it up to your iPod (or other portable media player) or play back the built-in FM radio. (FM Radio!? It's like having your own Zune!!) What's more, the large, plush buttons on the pillow actually work. Which brings the pillow to a new level of just plain weird. If there exists a subtribe of the infamous Furries that specialize in technology, this would make the perfect holiday present. As for me, I'm trying to convince myself to pick one up because I know my three-year-old would just go wild about it.
